A British mom who duped her own son to fund a champagne-sipping lifestyle before featuring in a Netflix documentary has been charged with fraud after her alleged victims watched the show.
Dionne Marie Hanna, 84, faces five counts of fraud involving three people. She appeared in court via video link on Saturday after charges were filed in Singapore.
The Singapore resident is accused of conning victims out of their money after claiming she would reimburse them through her inheritance from Brunei's royal family.
The charges reportedly come after her alleged victims watched 'Con Mum' on Netflix, which told of how the pensioner ruined the life of her son, Graham Hornigold, a top pastry chef, by contacting him in 2020 claiming to be his long-lost mother. DNA tests later proved she was Mr Hornigold's mother. However, he says after she got in touch, the 84-year-old then scammed him out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Hanna told her son she was a successful international entrepreneur before then duping the London-based chef of his cash, the documentary claimed.
The alleged fraudster appeared in court via video link where she was reportedly seen in a hospital bed in Singapore's Tan Tock Seng, according to local reports. It's not clear why she was in the medical facility.
She is accused of conning three men in Singapore and France into transferring cash to her accounts, claiming the funds were needed as legal fees and for the opening of new bank accounts.
Hanna allegedly sought the sympathy of her victims by claiming she was terminally ill and vouched to reimburse victims through her connections with Brunei royalty. However, these claims were questioned by her son in the Netflix show, who claimed he faced a similar scam.
In exchange for their money, the 84-year-old also vowed to donate millions of dollars to a mosque and a Muslim non-profit organisation in Singapore, the court heard.
After the Netflix show aired last month, police in Singapore said they had received several complaints from alleged victims. It is unclear how much cash her victims lost.
However, investigators said a preliminary probe showed Hanna was alleged to be involved in at least five cases of fraud with losses amounting to more than £115,000.
'As part of the arrangement to receive monies for the investment and inheritance, the victims were asked to transfer money for legal fees and opening of overseas bank accounts,' police said.
'The victims believed her investment and release of inheritance to be genuine and made several transfers to her.'
If convicted, Hanna faces up to 20 years in jail and a fine.
